I recently did some reading on Celiac Disease (a stomach and digestive disorder) with a friend. These digestive problems are so painful and difficult to both diagnose and deal with. The article stated that those with Celiac Disease should “chew your foods thoroughly before swallowing as this will improve intake of nutrients.” That makes sense, but I’d never heard it expressed just like that. I was intrigued and remembered a favorite health coach writing in her newsletter that while green smoothies are awesome, that they need to be “chewed” for maximum benefit. She left it at that, but since we’re committed to a daily green smoothie each morning, it was time for more information.
We drink our own green “Good Morning” smoothies almost every day. The recipe originates from our adult daughters who follow a young and very fit mother with a huge Instagram following. “Just get your spinach out of the way first thing in the morning …. Mix up two big handfuls in a blender with 16 oz of water and drink it!” they told us. “You’ll get your dark leafy greens into your body and doing their job while the day is young!”
Well that has grown (thanks to Dr. Michael Greger at “How Not To Die” and his “Daily Dozen” app) into adding kale, lentil sprouts, My Miracle Detox drink (link below) as the liquid, frozen banana, frozen berries, ground flax seed, chia seed and a little sugar-free pineapple juice. It’s pretty darn tasty and I’ve included the recipe below. True confessions: Neither my husband or I have been sick with a cold, flu, or really anything in at least three years and we think this must be a part of it!
We use a Nutribullet (from Walmart) and purchased some extra-long, extra-wide straws that make it easy to drink. We thought we had it down to a T! But …. We have not been “chewing” them until finding Robyn Openshaw, the queen of smoothies at GreenSmoothieGirl.com, who has written an excellent article that is well worth our time! I’ve copied it below and in my links at the end of this article.
Before reading that information, however, there’s a behind-the-scenes history that’s very important. Robyn’s newborn son was fighting for his life and she herself was an unhealthy 70 pounds overweight. Struggling with the associated challenges of being obese, she was desperate to find answers for herself her new son. Her research led to a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. She lost those 70 pounds. She became fit, strong, energetic and healthy. Her baby son began to thrive and became strong and healthy too. Her quantum leap into health led to experimenting with smoothies for easier meals and eventually she made her mark by sharing her delicious recipes online at her popular website, www.greensmoothiegirl.com Her whole story is so interesting, and right in keeping with the many equally incredible health turnarounds for Latter-day Saints at www.DiscoveringTheWordofWisdom.com, the website created and maintained by Dr. Jane Birch. You can also read her many Meridian Magazine articles and how to get started on a healthier, whole-food plant based lifestyle at the links below.
Back to the chewing!
Why You Should CHEW Your Green Smoothies!
by Robyn Openshaw at www.GreenSmoothieGirl.com
With so many amazing benefits to drinking your greens, you probably feel pretty proud of your decision to include green smoothies as part of your healthy lifestyle.
However, you may be missing out on some of the nutritional benefits swirling around in that glass of goodness. There’s one surprising and simple step you could add while enjoying your healthy green smoothie that would boost the nutritional effects even more: Chew them!
This tip can especially help folks with digestive problems who don’t absorb much nutrition. These increasingly common maladies include leaky gut, SIBO, Crohn’s disease, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Right about now, you’re probably thinking, “How on earth could I chew a blended smoothie?” and that part is easy:
- You just take a sip of your healthy green smoothie.
- Move your teeth in a chewing motion multiple times.
- Swallow your green smoothie.
- Repeat.
The more complex question is why you should chew your smoothies, and the answer requires a bit of a biology lesson.
…
The Crucial Role of Chewing Your Green Smoothie
To be digestible, greens need to be fully broken down into the tiniest particles, or “creamed” like wide-palate primates with strong jaws are able to do easily, any observable “chunks” of green.
However, if you chew up your salad and then right before you would normally swallow it, you instead spit it out and look at it, you’re likely to see a mouthful of torn-up greens, nowhere near “creamed” and ready for digestion like it needs to be.
That’s because over several generations of eating increasingly more refined foods, the human body has adapted by developing ever-narrower palates. (This helps to explain the meteoric rise in orthodontic work; more and more orthodontists are widening children’s palates.)
Our jaws have weakened. We no longer chew food to the extent that we need to in order to extract nutrition from denser foods like raw green vegetables, as primates with wide palates do. We are no longer capable of breaking down the most important foods in our diet: greens.
To read the full article on this from Robyn, CLICK HERE.
As promised, here is our own morning smoothie! True confessions: neither my husband or I have had any sickness, even a cold in well over three years since we began drinking these nearly every day of the week.
GOOD MORNING SMOOTHIE RECIPE
Bob and Carolyn Allen
½ cup My Miracle Detox Drink (See link below)
1 cup water
1 handful of baby spinach leaves (buy it at Walmart, washed and ready to use)
1 handful of chopped kale (we buy it at Walmart, already chopped and washed)
About ½ cup of sprouted lentils (instructions are below .. they’re expensive to buy, but cheap to grow!)
3-4 frozen banana slices
½ cup frozen raw berries without sugar (from the berry mix we buy at Walmart)
About 1 Tbsp. sugar-free pineapple juice concentrate
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds (I use 3 Tbsps. For my husband for male health)
Whiz together in a blender and enjoy!
HOW TO GROW LENTIL SPROUTS
These are easy, fun and more nutritious than cooked lentils! This is a very delightful thing to do with childre and they’ll love eating the delicious little sprouts after watching them grow. You will need:
1) A 1-quart mason jar with a lid, 2) the screw on ring, and 3) a piece of cheese cloth or light-weight screen mesh.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place ¼ to ½ cup lentils in the jar.
2. Cover with 3-4 inches of water. Screw on the lid with the cheese cloth.
3. Place the jar on a counter (or in a cupboard) for 24 hours.
4. Drain the water (through the cheese cloth) and rinse the lentils well, at least two or three times, with more fresh water. Swish them around in the bottle so they get fully rinsed. This time drain thoroughly and place the jar on the counter (or in a cupboard).
5. 2-3 times each day, thoroughly rinse and drain the lentils, leaving them in the bottle.
Within a couple of days you’ll see the little sprouts emerging. Over the next 3-4 days, they will grow and be ready to eat! They are delicious and taste like baby kernels of corn. They will be fully grown at 5-6 days and keep well in the refrigerator.
We have two sprouting jars, one to eat and one to grow, so we never run out for our smoothies.
I hope you’ll enjoy maximizing health and simplifying meals with green smoothies and the healthy, raw ingredients that go into them!
LINKS:
www.GreenSmoothieGirl.com
Why You Should Chew (Yes, Chew!) Your Smoothie https://greensmoothiegirl.com/chew-green-smoothies/
www.DiscoveringTheWordofWisdom.com
Jane Birch Archive of Health Through Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle at Meridian Magazine
My Miracle Detox: Meridian’s Health Product for Gut Health, Digestion and Constipation
Carolyn Allen is the Author of 60 Seconds to Weight Loss Success, One Minute Inspirations to Change Your Thinking, Your Weight and Your Life. She has been a columnist for Meridian Magazine since 2007. She provided mental and spiritual approaches for weight loss success and happy living both online and in the Washington, DC community since 1999 through Weight Watchers, First Class, Fairfax County Adult Education and other community groups. She and her husband, Bob, are the parents of five children and grandparents of a growing number of darling little ones. They are now happy empty nesters in Sandy, Utah where they center their online business for an amazing herbal detox.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE